Not too long ago our family enjoyed 10 days between London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland.
In preparing for the trip I spent way too much time trying to determine just what to wear on vacation. I didn’t want to look touristy, but I wanted to be comfortable. And I’m on the ever-present quest to slim down the suitcase and pack just the essentials with items that can be mixed and matched.
In making my decisions on what to wear, I tried to search the internet for pictures of REAL people wearing REAL clothes in each of the destinations. No go. I found lots of celebrity clothes, but no pics of regular people just living and enjoying life.
Yes, I am embarrassed to admit that, but I’m trying to be honest. And I cannot be the only one. So, after arriving, of course I realized my wasted time and effort in putting so much thought into my wardrobe.
Here’s my advice on that:
Don’t stress so much over what to wear. Really. Just wear what you love and don’t worry about everyone else.
But if you really must know because you are either curious or need some reassurance (or ideas), here’s what was in my suitcase and what I actually wore.
Here’s a peek at what I packed for casual wear:
I packed a gray long-sleeved hoodie, gray knit pants, denim jacket (never wore it), charcoal gray tank, purple 3/4 length pullover, navi camisole, light-weight print button down, bright pink 3/4 sleeve V-neck, jeans, purple camisole, navy capris, navy knit skirt, white V-neck sleeveless top, and a denim skirt.
I started out the trip in the navy camisole and navy knit skirt with the light, flow-y, flowery top layered on top. I felt pulled-together, yet still comfortable on the flight. In the past I’ve typically worn loose pants for a flight abroad, but the skirt proved to be just as comfy, yet it made me feel more attractive. (And when I’m sitting in coach for many, many hours with three children, I’ll take what I can get to feel prettier!) I used those pieces quite a lot through the trip in many ways… especially the cami and the flower shirt. Those were great layering pieces. Both came from Old Navy.
And a few dresses with a hoodie cardigan for layering:
My husband picked the dresses I packed for the trip. We had two date nights planned and I also wore the dresses site-seeing. I did borrow a light cardigan to wear over the black dress for part of our evening out in Edinburgh. At first I thought we were going overboard with all these sundresses, but I ended up wearing all but one on the trip.
And, if I can just say: the halter dress is from Athleta and it is an awesome travel dress! I could bunch it up and it would still arrive unwrinkled. Plus it has a cool secret pocket in which I could fit a very few essentials, including my phone.
And, of course you cannot forget the shoes:
All of these shoes were super comfortable, yes, even the heels. (I snapped those up in two colors at Ann Taylor five years ago and they have been lifesavers. The sole is covered in rubber and they are incredibly comfortable. Really. I toured the Tower of London in those suckers and my feet didn’t hurt at all. I keep hoping to find them again but, alas, haven’t yet.)
The gray mary janes, which I bought at Target last summer (and you can still buy now… even in green) were perfect. They paired well with skirts, pants and jeans and were very comfortable.
The black shoes by Clark’s were a bit better for Scotland, where we traversed more than a few slippery cobblestones in the mist.
The wedge flip-flops are called SwitchFlops and really rock. Not only is the sole a bit squishy and comfy and molds to your foot, the flip-flop part is attached via velcro, so you can switch it out to match whatever colors you are wearing… Super-easy way to bring lots of looks in one pair of shoes!
And, yes, I did wear my athletic shoes for some sight-seeing and didn’t feel like I might have had I worn them several years ago abroad. Now, they seem to be everywhere.
I did pack a pair of exercise clothes that, ahem, didn’t get any use on the trip.
In packing, I have come to love my folding compartments.
I can group clothes by day or weather type, fold them neatly and know that they’ll be easy to find and look good when I arrive. I use quite a few, which makes my duffle resemble a filing cabinet:
(The little yarn tie indicated what to open first. That compartment held a change of clothes for our first day. That way I could just pull it out and go if I didn’t feel like unpacking everything right away.)
This time I also packed a few things on hangers. I hung a dress and shirt or sweater on each hanger, grouped them by twos and then put a plastic drycleaning bag over every other pair. I slid the whole contraption into a hanging cover that folded and slid that into a different duffle. Everything arrived unwrinked and ready to wear or hang. Perfect!
For more packing secrets, check back soon for my one week trip packing checklist. And I promise to post more on our family adventures in London and Edinburgh… it was a magical trip!
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